Betting gang busted in Odisha; 3 arrested for duping people of Rs 1 crore
Odisha cyber police raided a house in Ganjam and arrested three men linked to an inter-state online betting operation. The seizures and digital evidence have widened the probe into a suspected Rs 1 crore fraud network.
Odisha Police have busted an inter-state online betting gang and arrested three of its members from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, officials said on Monday. The gang is suspected to have cheated people of around Rs 1 crore by luring them with false promises of huge returns on deposits.
The accused were arrested by cyber police officers from Chhatrapur in Ganjam district on Sunday. Police said the gang was operating from Palurgarh, and further investigation and forensic analysis are under way to trace the full financial trail, the modus operandi and the involvement of others.
The accused have been identified as Satrughan Kumar Pandey, 26, from Ramgarh district in Jharkhand, and Dharamdas Manikpuri, 30, and Jagdish Sethi alias Suraj, 30, from Chhattisgarh.
Jyoti Ranjan Behera, inspector in charge of the cyber police station in Chhatrapur, said a police team carried out raids at a house in Palurgarh after receiving a tip-off about a gang operating and promoting online betting applications.
The gang was also allegedly involved in other suspicious online fraud activities, luring people with false promises of higher returns on their deposits.
"During the raid, we found four persons in the house with some laptops and mobile phones. Seeing the police team, they tried to flee, and the police team managed to nab two accused persons, while the other two fled the spot," Behera said.
Police said that during preliminary enquiry, the arrested men disclosed their involvement in operating and promoting the online betting application and inducing innocent people to deposit money by making false representations about huge returns.
They also disclosed the names of others involved in the illegal activities, following which Satrughan was arrested.
Police seized two laptops with chargers and power cables, a Chromebook, 78 ATM and other cards, 16 bank passbooks, 14 smartphones, 86 SIM cards, a motorbike and several documents from them.
Behera said examination of the digital devices revealed the use of and access to several online gaming and betting applications and platforms, along with user IDs and passwords, indicating substantial monetary transactions in the form of deposits and withdrawals.